Martyrdom
by Night-Waker
Summary: For Sylvia, she was willing to do anything to ensure Wander's safety. Even if it could cost her her own life. Slightly dark AU one-shot


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. NOTHING I SAY!**

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><p>Sylvia saw what was coming before it hit her. The glowing green electricity crawling quickly over her body and burning every part of her it came into contact with. She bit her lip in an attempt to keep from crying out from the searing pain and continued to glare at the imposing figure in front of her through narrowed eyes.<p>

"Tell me. _Now!_"

The words unfazed the Zbornak as she stayed silent. This only served to further enrage Lord Hater. The next blow was more physical, a hard punch to Sylvia's face. Sylvia saw stars dance in her vision and coughed, blood mixed with syliva dripping to the dark metal floor below her from the corner of her mouth. She let out a grunt through clenched teeth, but that was all.

This had become routine for her, becoming more and more frequent in the past few weeks which showed just how impatient Hater was becoming. It always started with her cell door opening, screeching slightly loudly as the bars were raised, and almost immediately a small group of Watchdogs would rush in and tie her in heavy, thick chains to make sure she wouldn't attempt to overpower them and escape. Next they would escort her down the long hallways of the ship, the only sound being of dozens of pairs of boots marching in place. One of them had an electric rod equipped on them and never hesitated to zap her with it if she was walking too slow. Oh, how she wanted to give that Watchdog a taste of his own medicine.

Finally they reached Hater's torture chamber. Once there he would interrogate Sylvia to get her to talk. When all that happened was her refusing to do so, things would quickly dissolve into Hater losing his temper and resorting to torture to get her to break. She wouldn't break however, no matter how many times she'd been beaten - either by Lord Hater or the guards - and how much abuse was inflicted on a daily basis her she still managed to stay strong.

Most people would've snapped by now, begging for the pain to stop and telling Hater everything he wanted to know. Most would be terrified to die under these conditions but Sylvia was different. She wasn't scared of death.

As if to prove it she spat, "Flarp you."

It was one of the few things she had said in days, even though she wanted nothing more in that moment than to yell every single curse word in her vocabulary at him for all he's done. The only reason she hadn't was because she didn't want to give the skeleton the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of her.

These weren't the words Hater wanted to hear and Sylvia knew it, but what did she care? She already knew what was coming. Sure enough, Hater growled and grabbed her long neck before pinning her aganist the wall, forcing her to look him in the eyes. A sign his patience with her was wearing thin, if it were anyone else no doubt they would've broken by now, though with Sylvia she knew she had to keep her mouth shut...

"_WHERE IS THE STAR NOMAD?!_"

... She had to keep Wander safe.

As Hater's yell boomed in her ears Sylvia couldn't help but experience a split second of fear. It was natural after all, but she tried her best to swallow it back.

_C'mon do it for Wander, _she told herself, _It won't be too much longer now. _

It was true. The only reason she hadn't been executed yet was beacuse she was live bait for Wander. However, even before Hater realized that wouldn't get him anywhere and began the beatings did her time there was begin to take its toll. She was slowly beginning to lose her strength, and the abuse wasn't helping matters. She had noticed it just a few days ago on her way to the her last "chat" with the skeleton overlord. The way she limped, the way her blue skin was beginning to look more pale and how she was losing weight. The way she was feeling more and more weaker each day. She was dying, she had realized.

Strangely enough, she wasn't as terrified at the thought of her own impending demise as she thought she would be. Hater would either kill her or she'd be like one of her fellow prisoners who went to sleep in their cell one night and never woke up, their bodies taken by the guards and thrown out the airlock like they were nothing more than garbage and not something that once lived and breathed just like them.

She'd be gone and Wander - Wander, the greatest friend she had ever had whom she loved like a little brother - would be safe. It was thoughts like those that kept her going in this neverending nightmare.

"I'm not talkin'!" Sylvia managed to choke out, as she was starting to suffocate and Hater only tightened his grip. He held up his free hand and summoned a small, yet powerful, ball of electricity he was no doubt going to fire at her. Sparks danced from the ball and the area around it reflected the green light.

"Sir, sir, _SIIIIIRRR!_" a weaslely voice urgently cried out behind him. Hater looked over his shoulder shot an annoyed glare toward his Watchdog commander. It was usual for Peepers to be in the room with Hater whenever Sylvia was brought in. He never dealt out any violence himself, in fact the only reason he was there was to make sure Hater never went too far.

Needless to say, this wasn't the first time Peepers had to intervene.

The small soldier shrank back slighty under Hater's glare but continued, "A-As much as I want her dead and gone, it would be best if we wait until _after_ Wander is apprehended."

Hater kept his hold on Slyvia's throat and she began to struggle to get air, kicking her legs and moving side to side as best she could.

"_Please_ sir," Peepers pleaded, trying to get his leader to calm down, "Let her go. She's no good to us dead."

It was a few more moments before Hater finally - though reluctantly - loosened his grip on the Zbornak. Sylvia hit the ground , a loud _thud _echoing throughout the room. She gasped, trying to regain her breath, while Hater motioned to the two Watchdogs guards keeping watch by the door.

"You two," he yelled, "Get her out of here!"

The guards immediately obeyed and rushed over to Sylvia, clamping the chains onto her wrists and ankles before she could react. She felt dizzy as she was half-marched, half-dragged out of the large chamber but she was about to catch Hater complaining to his commander.

"It's been nearly _two months!_ Why won't she just tell me where stupid Wander is so I can kill them and be done with it?!" he whined. Though Sylvia wasn't able to see him, she could picture him stomping his foot like a child who didn't get the toy he wanted and was in serious need of a timeout.

"Don't worry sir," Peepers reassured, "She's a tough one, but I'm positive she'll crack if we give it some more time."

Sylvia was out of earshot by then to hear the rest of the conversation but she couldn't help but smirk knowing that she was getting under Hater's non-existent skin. Suddenly she heard a _zap _and felt a burn pain in her side.

"Keep moving!" a deep gruff voice demanded. The Zbornak growled at him, wishing her chains enabled her to at least give the Watchdog a punch to the eye, and quickened her pace a bit lest she wanted to get zapped again.

The journey to the prison level wasn't long and before she knew it, she was stuck back in her small cell.

"Stupid filtpicking hammerjins..." she muttered under her breath, rubbing her now free, sore wrists. She didn't bother trying to break the bars to escape like she had in the past. She had tried that when she was first captured and found they were too strong even for her. Looks like they were starting to learn from their mistakes.

Looking down, Sylvia asessed the latest damage: A burn on her side, a bigger one near it, numerous cuts and brusies from her latest and previous "chats" with Hater, a sprained finger (She suspected it was broken), and now she was probably going to have a black eye.

Sighing, Sylvia layed down and stared out the small window that gave her a view of the stars twinkling outside and planets that zoomed by as the ship sped passed them.

_At least Wander is still out there, _she said to herself, _That's all that matters._

She mused over what he could be doing right now. No doubt worrying about her and waiting for her to return. She rolled onto her side, winching as her wounds objected to the sudden movement, wishing she could be with him. To have him wrap his furry arms around her in one of his hugs. To have him play a tune on his banjo. To have him sitting next to her and point out the stars in the sky while they planned their next destination, their campfire crackling and glowing as the night wore on. She wouldn't mind any of that right about now.

Yet as her time here went on that actually becoming a reality became less and less likely. She knew she was probably going to die here, among those who fell asleep and never woke, but to her it was worth it. Curling up in an attempt to retain body heat for the night she imagined Wander snuggling up to her, using his large hat as a sleeping bag.

_"G'night Syl," _he would say.

" 'Night buddy," Sylvia whispered, hoping that somehow he'd hear her words across the reaches of space and they would bring him some comfort as she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: **_Okay, I am waaaaaaaaay too in love with this show for my own good. I have a thing for angst and I feel there isn't enough of it for this show on here so I decided to do this. Lookit dem feels. I would've gotten this up sooner but I had no idea how to begin this but what can you do?_

_Also how she got captured is up to interpretation, but all I'll say is that Wander doesn't know she's currently stuck with Hater. In other words Hater shouldn't expect his "live bait" stragety to work anytime soon. :P_

_Since I know someone will ask me to keep going let me say right now: I have **NO **plans to continue this. Maybe I will if I get an idea but for now this is just a one-shot._

_P.S. To those wondering, martyrdom is a synonym for self-sacrifice._


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